The Rotherham manager, Steve Evans, claimed Joe Garner's breathtaking second-half volley was the "goal of the century" after Preston North End earned a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final at Deepdale.

"If there is a better goal in the play-offs this year, then I'll wake up a chicken," Evans said. "But after that our keeper hasn't got a save to make."

The visitors went ahead in a lacklustre first half when Alex Revell burst clear on the counterattack and rifled the ball past Declan Rudd and inside the near post.

North End, aiming to end an eight-game play-off hoodoo, had been poor, but Garner ensured they will head to South Yorkshire next Thursday on level terms.

Just after the break, the boyhood Preston fan took a pass on his chest, calmly flicked the ball over the Rotherham defender Kari Arnason and smashed a wonderful dipping volley into the net from 25 yards out.

Evans's visitors had the better chances after that, Lee Frecklington's one-on-one with Rudd the best of the bunch, but the two sides drew for the third time this season.

"It's an acceptable result, it's not a good result because we usually see that as winning, but it is an acceptable one," Evans said. "I don't think it's advantage anyone, it gives us a chance but we know they have some top players. We know it will be extremely tough to beat them."

The Preston manager, Simon Grayson, was disappointed by his side's performance. "There's a lot of individuals that will realise they have to play better than they have done and we do believe we probably can't play much worse than that on Thursday night," he said.